LG G2 and Moto X Now Free on an AT&T Contract

[dgstorm]

Options... options. For AT&T users (or folks thinking of trying them out), you now have a couple of great FREE smartphone options if you sign up for a new contract with the carrier. Both the LG G2 and the Moto X are available for $0 dollars on a new contract. Normally, either of these phones would run you $99 for the same two-year agreement, but AT&T seems to be in a mood to over enticing value.

This sale will only last until January 31st, and only applies to the Black or White version of the Moto X. Folks who want to use the Moto Maker customization options will have to pay the regular amount. Here are a couple of links below to check out these offers.

Source: AT&T: (1) & (2)

 

[gadgetrants]

Just picked up a second Moto X for my son last night. Best Buy matched Amazon's price ($30) plus I had $20 in store credit, which put it around $12. He absolutely loves the phone, and $12 is so low that if Verizon drops it to a penny tomorrow I could live with that.

But this makes me wonder: when a phone comes out, the contract price is $200 or $100 or even $300. And then it's $99 and then it's $49 and then it's free. How can any of the sellers (phone providers or third parties or otherwise) afford to go from say $200 to $0 in less than 6 months? The answer seems obvious to me...the money paid on the phone itself is "extra cash" for the seller, while the "real profit" is made on the monthly charges from the phone line itself. The implication of that, I think, is that as long as the majority of customers are buying phones at subsidized prices, that up-front charge for the hardware is pretty much a complete rip-off. Yes, I've just used logic to prove that...
...ALL SUBSIDIZED PHONES SHOULD BE FREE AT LAUNCH!!!! :icon_ lala:

-Matt